The Foundation for Conscious Evolution’s New Film Series

by Felicia M. Tomasko

“I’m afraid I won’t live to see my youngest daughter’s
children,” a friend lamented to me on the anniversary of the 9/11
tragedy. This was not out of concern for her health, but rather for
the health of the planet — or, more accurately, for humanity. All a
person needs to do to feel a sense of despair these days is turn on
the news, open most newspapers, or log onto their home­page. We are
constantly greeted with announcements of destruction, death, and
societal and environmental degradation. But not everyone views our
current situation as bleak and hopeless.

The same day that my friend was nearly in tears, I spoke with
visionary author and teacher Barbara Marx Hubbard, cofounder and
president of the Santa Barbara-based Foundation for Conscious
Evolution. Through her individual work and the foundation, she
hopes to inspire humanity’s ability to survive and thrive. She sees
this time in history as a pivotal moment, when we have the
opportunity to evolve — to engage in what she refers to as
co-creation of a new world view.

To foster that, the foundation is producing a series of seven
DVD programs, to be released during the next two years, titled
Humanity Ascending. The first is Our Story, narrated and
presented by Marx Hubbard herself. The program begins with the
iconic image of an atomic explosion, which symbolizes for us the
constant threat of annihilation that was unthinkable before the
20th century. According to Marx Hubbard, the threat has escalated
since 9/11, which showed that “anyone who is disaffected and angry”
can gain power. And what’s more frightening than even nuclear war
is that, according to Marx Hubbard, “the world is aware that
destruction could come from anywhere.”

But there is hope, and this is the vital message of Humanity
Ascending. In Our Story, Marx Hubbard traces the process
of 14 billion years’ evolution, from the proliferation of subatomic
particles to the creation of human societies. In so doing, the film
highlights our capacity to transcend our limits and realize our
potential.

For Marx Hubbard, evolution isn’t quite as science has told us.
“Material-based science has given us a limited view of evolution.
It is purposeless, directionless, and meaningless, based on chance
and necessity,” she explained. “I do not hold that view. There is
another view emerging, that evolution is the process through which
consciousness creates a universe of higher order.”

In this “process,” we have come to a crucial time, according to
Marx Hubbard. “I look and see that we have come to the end of one
phase of consciousness, one form of growth and behavior. Species
face this all the time: the choice to learn to cooperate with
ecological factors or go extinct. If we will survive, we must learn
to cooperate.”

The impetus for this cooperation, according to Marx Hubbard, is
the looming sense of destruction. And it’s about time someone
focused on the shift, because, as Marx Hubbard explained, “We have
university degrees and training programs in place to maintain the
status quo, to train lawyers and stockbrokers, athletes and
musicians, but few study how to evolve the planet.” For those brave
souls ready to volunteer, Humanity Ascending outlines a
curriculum.

4•1•1 The premiere of Our
Story
, part of the Humanity Ascending series, is
Thursday, September 28 at the Riviera Theatre at 7 p.m. A
discussion with Barbara Marx Hubbard will follow. Tickets are $12
and can be purchased in advance at Paradise Found on Anapamu
Street. Call 682-3222 or visit barbaramarxhubbard.com for more information.

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